December 20, 2011

རྟུག་དྲི།

Tibetan language has several words for “flatulence.” (1) The Tshig mdzod chen po provides the spelling as rtug dri. What may be its etymology? Can one also spell stug dri? “Flatulence” is also called (2) dbugs ngan “bad breath,” (3) ’og rlung “lower wind,” (4) bshang dri  “annal smell,” and (5) phyen. See the brDa dkrol (s.v. dbugs ngan). By the way, in rDzong-kha, too, it i phyen.



7 comments:

  1. Speaking of offensive (or intense) odors, are you familiar with the expression "rhino odor"?

    •BSWE DRI mchan 'og gi dri ma ngan pa bse dri'i brda rnying. (obs.) underarm odor. Btsan-lha. Equals bse dri, 'rhino odor'. Zhi-byed Coll. I 441.6. Yisun says this odor is caused by a bug called bse rags, which lives in the pores of the underarm

    I would like to know more about this highly significant topic. Is it really etymologizable as the smell of the bse-ru, rhinoceros? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? (so to speak)

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  2. Oh, and another thing, What does it mean to 'let a yak'?

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  3. So sorry, I have no clues. And what is the Tibetan expression for “let a yak”?

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  4. I've heard g.yag gtong-ba/btang-ba. But for a dictionary reference, Melvyn Goldstein's big dictionary has — g.yag glod "vi. to fart."

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  5. Oh, I don’t know such an expression but I suspect that it is a “slang” and implying “to let loose a g.yag-like hefty [gust of wind].” Or perhaps it is a regional colloquialism.

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  6. My understanding was always that letting wind was something yaks were famous for doing, but then again I lay no claim to having very much experience in close proximity to those marvelous beasts. In any case, I hope they won't take any offense. I usually have respected them by keeping my distance.

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  7. That is interesting. By the way, according to rGan Padma-rgyal-mtshan, stu “cunnus,” too, is derived from stug(s). I wonder if it is indeed the case.

    D.

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